He was speechless, but on second thought, it made sense—after all, this was the capital. Even if experts didn’t seek out high places themselves, they might still be invited here.

Samuel Young narrowed his eyes and started counting, “Monks, Taoists, feng shui masters, spirit mediums... If you spread them out, every neighborhood would have one or two people who make a living from the underworld. There’s always someone kind-hearted who’ll perform free exorcisms.”

“Looks like you’re quite experienced. Where should we send them?” Ashley Grant thought of his own neighbor—wasn’t he a gu master?

“Normally, we underworld messengers don’t handle this sort of thing, but since we’re all colleagues and you asked...” Samuel Young trailed off.

“A mountain of gold.” Ashley Grant was already very practiced at this, thinking to himself that it was just like a delinquent friend of an unfilial son coming over to play.

Sure enough, Samuel Young immediately agreed, “Then let’s go to Juehui Temple. The monks there love dealing with this stuff!”

Ashley Grant had heard of Juehui Temple too. The place was famous, with a history of several hundred years. It used to be a place where the royal family prayed for blessings. Inside the temple was a massive Buddha bell, a Ming dynasty artifact weighing several dozen tons, known as the King of Bells. It was said that the incense there was especially efficacious, and it was well-known in the capital—some celebrities in the circle liked to visit as well.

……

“They won’t die. Let’s go!”

Before leaving, Ashley Grant wanted to check on his neighbor’s injuries, but Samuel Young was already urging him to hurry up. He wondered how he would explain it if he helped his neighbor in human form. As for Samuel Young, he clearly wanted him to just leave the neighbor behind.

If anyone else had said this, he would have thought they were too cold, but coming from Samuel Young... it was just the plain truth. The man’s lifespan wasn’t up yet, so it didn’t matter whether they helped or not.

“All right then.”

They took the underworld path, encountering a few wandering spirits along the way. Some hadn’t yet made it to the Yellow Springs, some couldn’t go, some were there by choice, others by necessity.

Samuel Young carried a lantern, and as soon as the lonely ghosts and wild spirits saw him from afar, they would avoid him on their own.

There was only one exception. When they reached a crossroads, they saw a man sitting on a large stone by the roadside. He didn’t move or avoid them when he saw them coming. His short hair reached just below his ears, the ends slightly curled. He wore black clothes, and his eyes were as dark and deep as black jade, with a kind of proud, handsome air.

At his collar, a pale wooden prayer bead necklace was visible, looping behind his neck. A long silk tassel hung down, ending in a golden lotus-shaped pendant, pressing down his slightly loose robe, giving him a unique bearing.

Ashley Grant couldn’t help but glance at him a couple more times, puzzled as to why he wasn’t running away. And he didn’t seem to smell of burnt paper...

Samuel Young interrupted his thoughts: “Mm, we’re almost at Juehui Temple. When we get there, leave them at the door, knock, hide, and wait for the monks to come out and pick them up...”

Ashley Grant: “……” That sounded kind of weird.

Xiao Hong and Xiao Lv, however, started cursing loudly. They didn’t really care where they were going—they just wanted to curse at Ashley Grant.

“Underworld messenger, you bastard!”

“Don’t let us see you again!”

“Pervert, shameless, you lied to us about being from the kitchen staff!”

Looking back, the real problem was being tricked by that damned underworld messenger’s “kitchen staff” line.

Their shrill, piercing voices even made the man by the roadside, who had previously been unmoved, glance over.

Ashley Grant cursed back, “You broke the rules and hurt people. You’re the real perverts, shameless ones.”

This soul-hooking rope really needed an upgrade—ghosts caught by it shouldn’t be able to talk anymore.

Ashley Grant and Samuel Young brought them to the gate of Juehui Temple. Following Samuel Young’s instructions, Ashley Grant stuck a note to the back of their necks, knocked on the door, and hid. Even if the monks couldn’t see the ghosts, they could see the notes. And so, they watched as the monks took them in.

“With this, after the exorcism, the City God’s people will come to guide them,” said Samuel Young. “We’re done here. So, Lily, can you get back on your own?”

Who was Lily? It took Ashley Grant a moment to realize he was talking about the words on his own hat...

Since Ashley Grant never revealed his name, and though Old Bai was unfilial, he kept his mouth shut after taking the money—not even telling his colleagues—Samuel Young just made up a name.

“I can, thank you, senior. Sorry for the trouble today.” Ashley Grant also expressed his thanks. All right then, Lily it is.

“Haha, it’s nothing, it’s nothing.” After all, you can’t refuse someone who’s helped you. Samuel Young waved his hand and walked off with his lantern.

……

Ashley Grant retraced his steps, and when he passed the crossroads, he saw the man in black still sitting there. He was curious—why didn’t this ghost have any scent? Ghosts who died on land smelled of burnt paper, those who died in water had a fishy stench, and fierce ghosts had a bloody smell... But this man in black had no scent at all.

Ashley Grant stopped and stared at him for a couple of seconds, even thinking the man looked a little familiar. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, or if beautiful people always looked alike.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, friend, how did you die?”

Andrew Miller looked up at the underworld messenger. Only his eyes were visible—his eyelids were thin, and his pupils were a warm brown, without the deathly or baleful aura of ordinary ghosts and spirits. On his tall hat were the words “Since you’re here,” something he’d never seen before. He’d even been arguing with ghosts earlier—rare to see such a lively underworld messenger.